Samsung acquires LoopPay, looks to take on Apple Pay

Samsung on Wednesday officially announced its acquisition of LoopPay, a mobile wallet provider that transforms existing magnetic stripe readers into wireless payment hubs. The deal is huge—LoopPay could potentially work with 90-percent of existing point-of-sale (POS) terminals, giving Samsung phenomenal reach. Apple Pay may be the current darling of digital wallets, by Samsung's solution could be just as big, if not bigger.

Samsung president, JK Shin, said today's acquisition accelerates the company's vision to "drive and lead innovation in the world of mobile commerce," adding that the company has always been interested in building a digital wallet empire. LoopPay executives will be added to Samsung's mobile division as part of the acquisition, with plans to integrate LoopPay's technology into Samsung devices.

Samsung's David Eun, who oversees the company's Global Innovation Center, made sure to point out that LoopPay is accepted at more locations than any competing service. And it's true: LoopPay could have an unstoppable global footprint thanks to Samsung's resources and the service's potential to work with existing POS terminals. If Samsung's LoopPay service does become a worldwide phenomenon, it could put a serious damper on Apple Pay's expansion plans.

"Through this deal, we can significantly accelerate our mobile commerce efforts," Eun said. "LoopPay's outstanding leaders and team have deep-rooted relationships with banks, card networks and merchants that will complement those Samsung has established over the years."

With the acquisition now in place, Samsung is all but set to talk more in-depth about its plans at Mobile World Congress next month, where we're expecting the company to announce the Galaxy S6, and possibly the curved S6 Edge as well.